Class
The first half of a player character of Sburb's Heroic Title is the Class. The Class defines the nature and focus of the hero's abilities and impact on the game's session on a concrete and level - the literal activities a player will perform to, and with, their heroic Aspect. Subdivisions of Classes The chief defining factor that seperates every given class in Homestuck is their status as Active or Passive. For every Active class, describing a hero who pursues their role directly, discretely and confrontationally, there is an equivalent Passive class for those heroes who act on a continuous, sustained basis. Active Classes also tend to act on and with their Aspect, while Passive Classes tend to be acted on by their Aspect, in a literal or abstract fashion. Beyond that, there are a full seven known sub-divisions of classpects, including the two revealed master classes. Some, myself included, have hypothesised that there may be less subdivisions than that, such as a grouping of physical vs. mental classes and so on, but the current divisions work just as fine. Creative Classes The Creative Classes perform (surprise) acts of creation to and with their Aspect, along with adjacent acts such as promoting growth, healing, restoration, maintainance and defense. *Maid - The Active Creative Class. Acts chiefly as a Defender, Repairer and watchful Warden to their Aspect. The natural healer and guardian of any heroic team, indentified by a proper and respectful nature and a fearless attitude towards those who would violate boundaries. *Sylph - The Passive Creative Class. Acts chiefly as a Nurturer, Foster and Sower (as both a textile thread and a gardener's seed) of their Aspect. One of the greatest dedicated support Classes attainable, one which only those with the greatest of care and tireless concern are chosen for. Destructive Classes The Destructive Classes perform (MAJOR surprise) acts of destruction to and with their Aspect, along with adjacent acts such as limiting growth, seperation, preventative action, choice excisions and the occasional necessary amputation. *Prince - The Active Destructive Class. Acts chiefly as a Divider, Sequitur and Invigilator to their Aspect. A highly decisive force, and a Class uniquely at odds with the typical virtues of it's heroic Aspect, driven to extremes, reckless pursuit of risk and contrarianism. *Bard - The Passive Destructive Class. Acts chiefly as a Riddler, Disseminator and Excavator of their Aspect. A cunning and easily underestimated Class posssessed of great resource, as verse with words, symbolism and lyrestrings as it is with fists, daggers and bowstrings. Possessive Classes The Possessive Classes perform acts concerning the placement, movement and containment of their Aspect, as well as wielding their Aspect as a means of conveyance and capture. *Thief - The Active Possessive Class. Acts as a specific Acquirer and Dispenser of their Aspect, and a reliable Deployer or Courier inbetween those two roles. Characterised by a fearless and often shameless attitude, as befits one determined to get want they want to whoever they want under any circumstances. *Rogue - The Passive Possessive Class. Acts as an (appropriately passive) Absorber, or casual Stumble-Acrosser, of their aspect, as well as a natural Distributor and Circulator (not unlike a postwoman). Described as natural Robin Hoods, members of this Class manage to combine energy and enthusiasm with discretion and restraint. Cognitive Classes The Cognitive Classes stand out among their peers, as although they do possess natural physical abilities as do all Heroes, their prime (and unique) powers over their Aspect is sensory, concerning themselves with knowledge, awareness and understanding foremost. *Mage - The Active Cognitive Class. Acts as a Seeker, Sleuth and direct Diagnostician to and with their Aspect. A keen, inquisitive and exacting spirit, underpinned by a driving and relentless for abstract concern, is defining of the Class. *Seer - The Passive Cognitive Class. Acts as an constant Observer, Monitor and Tally-Woman (or Record-Keeper, whicher rolls off the tongue easier) of their Aspect. The canniest and arguably wisest of heroes, the kind of people eminently resilient to being given the slip, are fated for this Class. Adjustive Classes The Adjustive Classes possess seemingly mild, but very flexible and far reaching powers concerning the manipulation and modification of their Aspect. *Witch - The Active Adjustive Class. Acts as an Arranger, Modulator and technical Operator of their Aspect, as well as one deft with controlling other elements through their Aspect's tactical invocation. All are highly engaged and eager to play with and adapt their chosen fields, skills and interests to whatever comes their way. *Heir - The Passive Adjustive Class. Acts as an Immerser, a powerful, consistent Embodiment and Nexus to, from and around which their Aspect exerts itself, revolves and converges. Only those with the purest, simplest and most earnest of souls find themselves in the seat of elemental inheritance. Implementive Classes The Implementive Classes are the simplest and strongest of the Classes, using their Aspect as a formidable practical instrument. They may not be capaple of creating their Aspect out of thing air or willing it out of existence, of twisting or reshaping it with a fingersnap, effortlessly summoning it to or scattering it away from them or parsing it with a scanner's eye, but when they wrap their hands around their aspect like a weapon, look their mark dead in the eye and strike true, there's nothing they cannot do. *Knight - The Active Implementive Class. The closest to a straightforward, unspecialised Warrior and Agent of their Aspect, a Super Mario of simple strength if you will. Whether obvious at first or otherwise, Knights are to the last man and women brave and true souls, who admire strength and noble effort and strive ever to surpass themselves. *Page - The Passive Implementive Class. Alone among the classes for possessing true and unlimited potential in all the realms, colours and callings of their Aspect - and given exhaustive Practice, strong and true guiding Principles and great, shaping Discipline, a Page can pass by example these skills on to any who would listen to them. Only those with a tremendous will, open of heart and mind but unbreakable in conviction, are fit for the challenges and dangers of this tremendous class, . While it is clear which Class is the Active and Passive counterpart of each pair, how the Classes compare in such terms between pairs is uncertain. It's entirely possible, for instance, that the Bard Class is more Active than the Witch Class, even though the Bard is the Passive of its pair and the Witch the Active. Master Classes Late into the story of Homestuck, a pair of Classes outright more powerful than the core twelve were revealed. Referred to as the Master Classes, these two heroic roles have powers that cover the realms of several of their lessers. Whether they are as powerful in each specific field as their lesser, more specialised cousins, or weaker in each component but stronger overall, is unconfirmed; nor is it certain if their are other Master Classes, each covering a different umbrella of the normal twelve Classes. The two confirmed Master Classes are as follows: *Lord - The Master Active Class. Apparently possesses most or all of the powers of the Maid, Prince, Thief, Mage, Witch and Knight classes, although this is unconfirmed. Able to command their Aspect through the direct exertion of their will as directly and literally as possible. The only Lord met in canon is possessed of a high-minded, demanding, decisive and possessive nature, exceptionally robust in character and incapable of compromise. Apparently exclusively male. *Muse - The Master (or Mistress) Passive Class. Apparently posses most or all of the powers of the Sylph, Bard, Rogue, Seer, Heir and Page classes, although this is unconfirmed. Apparently is the greatest passive incarnation of the entirety of their Aspect possible - whatever happens to them happens to their Aspect and vice versa. The only Muse met in canon is an exceptionally sweet, demure and considerate character, though not without her wiles, who is nonetheless unfocussed alone and seeks to subsume her will into others. Apparently exclusively female. Further patterns, connections and subdivisions within the classes Just as there are more patterns to the heroic Aspects of Sburb than the core pairing of opposites, so too are there further connections between the twelve Classes beyond the Active and Passive pairings.. One of them is fairly obvious: the Creative and Destructive Classes are obvious contrasts, forming a neat square of a pure Creator/Grower (Sylph), a Pure Destroyer/Underminer (Bard), and a pair of maintainers focussed on preventing and undoing acts of destruction (Maid) and construction (Prince). Other patterns are less clear, but there are some suggested and commonly supported sets as follows: * Mage and Seer with Thief and Rogue. All four classes are involved with the movement, arrangement and transferance of their Aspect. The Mage and Seer work on a mental/data/sensory/intellectual level, while the Thief and Rogue operate on a literal/physical/practical/material level. * Witch and Heir with Knight and Page. All four classes enact straightforward, adaptable changes to and with their Aspect, unlike the other classes' more specialised powers. The Witch and Heir are ostensibly the mental/intelligent pair, while the Knight and Page are the physical/practical pair. * Thief and Rogue with Knight and Page. These four classes are considerably more physical, material and hands-on than the others. * Mage and Seer with Witch and Heir. These four classes are notably more intelligent, technical and though-based than the others. * Knight and Page with Mage and Seer. Some have posited that these classes exhibit a natural field operative/mission control dichotomy, with Seers keeping an eye out on broader events for a Knight to intercept and deal with and Mages supplying important knowledge, testing avenues and developing insight in a Page's spiritual journey, while in turn the Knight and Page safeguard and serve the Seer and Mage with their practical strength and powers. * Thief and Rogue with Witch and Heir. This pair follows a similar dichotomy to the one above, but the exact nature of this dynamic is vague. In-comic, Thieves have all had interesting relationships with Heirs, as have Rogues with Witches, which indicates a theoretical connection. An Heir can act as a stable nexus and point of convergence for a ranging Thief to operate off of and from, supplying the Heir in return for stable channels of movement and commune, while a Witch could use a Rogue as an exceptionally adept and malleable resource both for aquiring and distributing tricky materials for themselves to influence and for influencing with, in return for assisting said Rogue in exericising it's sneaky agency with tact influence over obstacles in it's path to acquisition.